Geraldine Ferraro and the Genomics of Multiple Myeloma

, the first female Vice Presidential candidate for a major US political party, died from multiple myeloma on March 26, 2011 only two days after the publication of a study decoding myeloma tumor genomes from 38 donors. This study revealed several new and unexpected molecular mechanisms of oncogenesis and highlighted the increasing likelihood that genome analysis will become the standard of care for personalized cancer care much sooner than anticipated.

Ferraro was a Congresswoman from Queens at the time she was picked by Walter Mondale as his VP candidate in 1984 in the unsuccessful campaign against Ronald Reagan and George Bush. At the Democratic National Committee Convention, it was a historic moment when Ferraro declared:

"My name is Geraldine Ferraro, I stand before you to proclaim tonight: America is the land where dreams can come true for all of us."

Her acceptance speech launched eight minutes of cheers, foot-stamping and tears.The 75 year-old Ferraro died at Massachusetts General Hospital after battling myeloma for the past twelve years. Ferraro talked about her disease and why she went public with her diagnosis in an interview in 2001:

"There were three reasons for my going public: One was to heighten awareness about this disease so doctors can recognize it when their patients have blood work done during regular checkups. Another was to raise money from the government, and the third was to encourage faster FDA approval of drugs."

Ferraro was an honorary board member of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation along with a number of other public figures including Cindy Crawford, Mariska Hargitay, Keith Olbermann, Sharon Osbourne, General Norman Schwarzkof, Katie Couric, Brian Williams and others.

Multiple myeloma, a malignancy of plasma cells, is the second most common blood cancer in the United States and constitutes approximately 1% of all cancers. Over the past two decades, the overall incidence and mortality rates of myeloma have remained fairly stable. Men have a higher incidence of myeloma than women. In addition, myeloma is more common among the elderly and African Americans who have a higher mortality rate than other groups. For a comprehensive review of this disease, its diagnosis and management see the Resounding Health Casebook containing information from the National Cancer Institute.

The recent study of myeloma genomes is briefly explained by one of the paper's authors, Dr. Kenneth C. Anderson in this 2 minute video:

For a brief introduction to genome science and technology, see our previous article Genomics for PCPs in 5 Minutes or Less. For a more detailed overview of the role of genomics in molecular medicine, see Dr. Mark Boguski's presentation at the annual meeting of the American College of Medical Genetics in Vancouver, Canada on March 19, 2011 below.

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